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Get to know your nominees!

With this being an election year (our first election year) there are many nominees that are willing and able to take action in shaping the future of geocaching maine. But there are also many people out there that do not konw the nominees as well as some of us do. So the purpose of this thread is for the nominees to step up and tell a little bit about themselves to help educate our members about who they'll be voting for.

So to start this thread off I'll tell you a little bit about me... (into the mind of Hiram...)

I have been addicted to geocaching for over a year (since June 07, 2005) and have been a premium member of geocaching.com for almost as long. I joined geocachingmaine.org on sept. 9th, 2005 and am a donating member of the site. I choose to put my money to these causes because I love this sport, and it would not be possible without these sites. I want to see the sport and it's communities grow in positive light, over the last year I've been working with the Kennebec Land Trust to help them know where caches are on their properties, introduce them to the cache owners that have caches on their properties, and I am currently working with them to map out their properties and trail systems with GPS to provide them with some nice detailed trail maps. I've been active with geocaching right from the start (and draggin others into with me!) I've organized a couple memorable events such as "Hirams FTF-A-Thon" and the world famous "4x4 Cache Rally" If elected I would like to not only help the site organize to build a sustainable future for itself, but I would also like to dedicate more time to putting out the good word of geocaching to land owners and land trusts to help ensure that the sport has a future in the great state of Maine. So vote for me! Hiram357!!!!! and I'll give you a free candy bar! (just kidding about the candy bar, but you will get the satisfaction of knowing that you have done a great service to this website and the world of geocaching by voting for me)

Sheesh! I've been around for a LONG time! LOL! Everyone knows me, and either loves me or hates me, so I don't think campaigning would change anything!

If you want to check my caching experience, click on the link below.

Oh, c'mon Bruce, You're not helping the cause of the thread... You could at least say a few things to those who don't know you (like, run while you still can) What about all the new people that have joined within the last month that don't know you? If you don't say something about you... I'll write it up for you... then you'll be sorry...

Oh, c'mon Bruce, You're not helping the cause of the thread... You could at least say a few things to those who don't know you (like, run while you still can) What about all the new people that have joined within the last month that don't know you? If you don't say something about you... I'll write it up for you... then you'll be sorry...

No, I don't think I could add anything that isn't already in our profile.

No, I don't think I could add anything that isn't already in our profile.

alright, have it your way...

Bruce is a big shy cuddly teddy bear kinda guy. He has been a ballerina for almost 10 years now. He loves the opera and long walks on the beach. His favorite beer is Corona Extra, and he uses a Magellan. He's never been out of maine because he has a phobia of squirrels, so he hides in his basement most of the time. His favorite hobbies include knitting, cross stitching, and pottery. He has 3 toy poodles named larry, moe, and curly, he loves to put pink ribbons in their hair (he thinks it scares the squirrels away) Yeup, that's Bruce in a nutshell for ya!

Maybe he is embarassed about writing about himself, I know I am. But here goes anyway. I have been caching since July of "03" after meeting up with the infamous Brdad who met me at a cache in China "The China School Forest Cache" which I now own after adopting it from the original owner and his class of students there. I haven't looked back since. This activity has brought me to many places in Maine that I wouldn't have ever seen were it not for geocaching.

Another of the advantages is the friendships I have made over these last 3 years and not just acquaintances but really true friendships.

I have not hidden many caches but the ones I have hidden have always been special to me and have gotten many good responses. I was instrumental in the BRLT adopting all of the caches on their preserves as they were falling into disrepair and they now are the stewards of all of those caches on BLRT lands (Boothbay Region Land Trusts).

I'm not running for any particular board or office but think that the time is coming when we will be asked to account for ourselves and I think this organization will at least be on the right track to being and doing what is good for all Geocaching in Maine.

I hope whomever is elected will do the very best for what ALL of Maine geocaching stands for.

Just smile it won't crack your face

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is
suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best
friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

I think many cachers know who I am as well, but Iíll post to keep in the spirit of things. As a person, I am in my 40ís and a self-employed handyman. I have a bit of a sense of humor and incorporate it into nearly everything I do. I was a single parent for 15 years or so before geocaching came along, and had a little over 100 finds before I found the best cache prize, msteelee (Iím gonna score some points on that one, eh?). Since then we have found most of our caches together, although we maintain ourselves as individuals. The Br in my caching name stands for Brian, my son, and the dad stands for me. Brian doesnít do many caches nowadays as he is at the age where hanging out with us old people just isnít cool. I wish caching had been around when he was a lot younger.

As a Geocacher:
I have been a charter member of Geocaching.com since June of 2002 and am active in the national forums, the official chat, as well as the GeocachingMaine forums and chat. I was an active member when several discussions and votes were taken, not limited to the official Geocaching FRS channels and the public domain Geocaching logo (Which I still host on my site). I have found caches in many parts of the state as well as a few out of state. I even hunted a few benchmarks just to see what it was all about. I was actively trying to help when ďThe TeamĒ was compromising Augusta area caches. I remember when some of the Northern Maine Virtual Tour caches were traditional and had to be turned into virtuals. I remember when there were no PQs, no maps on cache pages, and underground (non-listed) caches existed. When no one requested Yellow Jeep travel bugs the first year, Groundspeak contacted me and asked me to distribute them. I have helped many new cachers start the sport, both virtually and in person. I agreed to be interviewed by the Lewiston Sun, something that is not typical of me, but I did it because I thought someone might benefit from reading the article and enjoy Geocaching as much as I have. I have hidden five caches, all of which have been well received. I have promoted diversity and quality in Maine Geocaches. I have promoted quality containers and the use of signature items. I have promoted communication, honesty and friendliness among cachers. I have spoken up to protect geocaching.com standards and ethics even when I risked being disliked. I believe I have made a positive impact in Geocaching.

My caching beliefs:
The numbers are relative. Some cachers have to work 10 times as hard to find a cache as another cacher might. There are way too many variables to make any comparison of finds between two cachers valid.
When you remember your most memorable micros, more than often you will remember only the hide.
When you remember your most memorable full size caches, you will more often remember the surroundings and the hide.
If you donít sign the log (or prove you were there, opened the cache, and that the log could not be signed), itís not a find.
The validity of a find should be between the cacher and the cache owner, even if it breaks the previous belief.
There can be too many caches for a given area, even when abiding by Geocaching.com guidelines.
Cachers should read my Anatomy of a Great Cache Hide article before hiding caches.
Itís just a game, dammit! - dboggny

I believe the elected board members:
Should incorporate the decisions of as many members as possible when possible.
Should work well together and keep their minds open to all ideas.
Should work to get useful information for cachers and landowners readily available on the web site.
Should work on a plan to gain membership and to keep the members interested, both in the site and in Geocaching.
Should not make any rules regarding how caches are found or hidden; instead they should promote caching via geocaching.com standards.
Should not assume they know what other cachers think about any issues.
The fewer rules, the better!